calm
The Ripple Effect Of Kindness
Although I am usually very careful with online transactions, I received a notification yesterday of two unknown online purchases for the same amount, but from separate companies, both debited to my credit card without my knowledge.
It´s been a few years since I have been scammed in this way, so when I began investigating the matter it soon became obvious that online fraud has become rife in recent years. It’s much more complicated and frustrating to sort this out with vendors and the bank than it used to be. It was certainly a lesson for me to be more careful in future.
However, an unexpected blessing came from the mishap, as it often does. At the end of the first phone call I made to report the issue, the call center agent who assisted me thanked me for “being so nice to him.” When I asked him what he meant, he said my voice had soothed him and that he consequently felt a great sense of calm. He explained that people usually begin these call by yelling at him, as if he is somehow to blame.
“Well, it´s hardly your fault,” I said.
He continued by saying that customers are usually very angry and upset. Although he is trained to handle such calls, and understand the frustration of the callers, one never really get used to the feeling of being attacked and insulted – simply for doing your job.
I felt blessed after our interaction to know that I had impacted someone´s day positively. It reminded me that our words and actions really can make or break someone´s day.
It reminded me of the time when I used to work for an airline, many years ago. Our service training was heavily focused on customer care, particularly as this particular airline didn´t have a great reputation for punctuality or customer service in those days. Management was making a concerted effort to rectify their bad reputation.
De-Cluttering For Body, Mind & Spirit
For me the average household chore is only temporarily rewarding, because before you know it, the serenity which comes from the cleanliness and order you’ve just created is short lived. Dust and chaos return in a flash!
On the other hand, I find ‘de-cluttering’ much more rewarding, and more so knowing that a lot of ‘stuff’ not used in a while is either going to someone who can use it, or to help in raising funds for one of the animal charities I support.
More frequently these days, people are adopting a minimalist feng shui approach to furnishing their homes – and also in other areas of their lives – because somewhere deep down we all long for the space and lack of gadgets and stuff that our forefathers managed quite happily without.
Much has been brought to our TV screens these days in the way of reality shows about compulsive hoarding, bringing awareness about how the obsession of accumulating a vast amount of things is actually an emotional issue, rather than one of material usefulness.
Advances of modern civilization are generally limited to the material. So, our spiritual and mental progress hasn’t kept up with the material, hence people’s anguished stories, which I feel is accentuated because their spiritual development hasn’t kept up with their worldly achievements.
The benefit of clearing out that which no longer serves us helps in two major ways:
The True Meaning Of Inner Peace
What does the word ‘peace’ mean to you? Well, the true meaning of this word came to me recently in an unusual way, while I was doing a psychic reading.
The client I was reading for told me at one point in our conversation that he was finally “at peace.” All of a sudden, I felt as if I was sucked into a time warp. When he said the word peace in that context, it was like my own past went into this time machine and emerged in the present. It felt to me as if spirit was using this client’s words to get my attention about my own personal life.
In recent years things have been difficult in my own family life, especially around Christmas, because I have not seen my son in many years. It has been challenging for me and everyone around me.
I made the classic mistake. We tend to think that if we focus very hard on avoiding something negative, we might block it or prevent it from entering our life. We believe this is the best way to control the outcome of what could happen to us in the future. Ironically, this is often the reason why we attract more negative things into our lives.
We also tend to think that ‘being at peace’ only means to eliminate and overcome stress in our lives. Or we think it merely helps us to sleep better. I have always known that if I try to live in a more a stress-free world in my own mind, I would feel better about my life in general. But I never considered peace to be a tool to use for finding a better way to deal with not seeing my son.
In life we have many potholes to avoid and many mountains to climb, and if we look to truly have peace in our life we need to come to place of deeper acceptance and letting go, instead of merely trying to be stress-free. True inner peace is a powerful medicine that everyone can use every day.
Being Relaxed Is Good
It is difficult for most of us to enjoy a few moments of deep relaxation and inner peace. The many pressures of modern life seldom affords us the bliss of such a ‘luxury.’
A relaxed mindset if vital for our spiritual well-being and soul growth. When we are in a relaxed state, we are better able to channel our higher self and be aware of what our angels and guides are saying to us. But when we are inundated with the chaos of the world, we cannot connect with that higher frequency and we miss all the good things spirit has to offer.
So, I asked spirit what busy humans can do to be more relaxed more often. I received the answer from a cashier who, after I had paid said goodbye with a smile I will never forget and said, “Being relaxed is good.”
I just nodded and said, “Yes, yes indeed it is.”
In our busy lives we forget how important it is to take some time out for self-care. And when we do, we realize what we have been missing!
I believe the best starting point is healthy sleep. Taking the time to get a good night’s rest empowers us to wake up and find that life doesn’t seem quite as difficult as it seemed the day before. Good, adequate sleep helps us see life through the lens of a more relaxed mindset.
Being well-rested is good.
A few additional lifestyle choices that are not so difficult to achieve can further enhance a relaxed state of mind. These include healthy eating and proper nutrition, exercise, taking warm baths, meditating, reading a good book before bedtime, and so on. Continue reading
Transitioning With Grace
Autumn always awakens my awareness of transitions. Not only does the entire scenery change color, but each individual leaf on every tree is in a constant shift of shades of greens, golds, yellows, oranges, and reds. With every shifting shade and combination of them, the pattern of the palette continuously alters too.
Then, of course, there is the falling of the leaves – the gradual transition from tree to ground, from full foliage to bareness in various new measures day by day. The rise and set of the sun, and the length of the night and light incrementally inch through their own thresholds as well.
Like the changing season, life is full of transitions. From the moment the soul enters the womb, an endless sequence of them begins. The body develops in a rapid succession of changes, then carries the soul from womb to world.
In the world, the embodied soul then undergoes transition through various ages and stages, growing from infant to toddler to child to adolescent to adult, until gradually winding down to leave the body behind and proceed to the next one or world.
In between, you and I – the embodied souls – may face a multitude of additional transitions in relationships, careers, residences, levels of consciousness, and more. Such transitions – even the best of them – are not easy. They naturally incorporate intervals of instability in the liminal spaces between here and there. Transitions entail shedding, releasing, letting go of the old that was, and then birthing and rebirthing the next and new phase that will be. They empty us out and fill us up, again and again. Transitions are not easy; they may even make us feel queasy!
So, how can we move through the endless array of life’s transitions gracefully? As with all things, there are probably as many ways as there is individuality among people. What I share are simply some of the ones I have found especially helpful.
Reconnect And Recharge Your Soul
What a crazy place the world is right now! First wave, second wave, third wave. New virus, old virus, mutant virus. To be vaccinated, or not? Fear, chaos, anxiety. Misinformation, conflicting information, false information. What do we trust? Who do we turn to for guidance?
And the pandemic is not our only concern. Scientists are warning us that the polar ice caps are melting faster than they had anticipated, as global warming causes climate change. The oceans are drowning in our plastic waste and animal species are going extinct.
Whatever will be next? Will things ever get better, or will they get worse? Are we worse off than our ancestors? Where will it all end? How do we center ourselves in all the chaos and drama, and foster a sense of inner peace and faith amidst all the upheaval?
The one aspect of this world I completely trust is Mother Nature. The Earth Mother, Terra, Tellus. Our beloved Gaia. Like any other maternal energy, she continually finds a way to cope. She readjusts, heals and rejuvenates.
I believe the planet will find a way to heal, restore and recover. Our Earth Mother has the innate power to sustain herself, despite the assault and abuse by her thankless human offspring. Unlike us feeble humans, Mother Nature does not resort to hysterics, fear and panic.
I believe there is a divine understanding that at different times particular events and changes will unfold, as the world evolves its own destiny.
The other aspect of life that I have complete faith in is my soul, my spirit, my higher self, that remains steadfast within me regardless of what goes on in the outside world.
Find The Eye Of The Storm
Your relationship is falling apart, you have lost your job, your finances are in a shambles, you suffer an unexpected loss due to a global pandemic. Chaos comes in many forms and at times it touches multiple areas of our lives at once.
The ripple effect starts in one area and then spreads insidiously, until every aspect of your life begins to look very bleak. Your emotional reserves are drained, confusion sets in and you feel stuck, powerless…reeling from the shock.
When things turn bad in your life this way it can have the force and power of a hurricane or tornado. It can be devastating.
Perhaps you sensed it coming. Your intuitive radar was ‘pinging’, sensing imminent danger, or maybe it caught you completely off-guard. Either way, the results are the same.
Now what? How do you get your bearings, recover your sense of direction, recharge your battery and get the inner strength to move forward?
All tropical storms have a center, or an eye. The stronger the storm the calmer the eye, which is characterized by lighter winds and a clearer sky. So, take a breath – a deep breath – and find your center. Find the eye of your storm.
Making decisions from fear or chaos always increases the strength and ferocity of the storm. Remember, all storms do pass. The beauty of life lies in the newness and change each moment offers us.